FOCUS ON THE DEBT

From playing a conflicted ex-Mossad agent in The Debt to the Queen of England, Helen Mirren pushes her craft. But rather than rest on her laurels, this grand dame of theater and cinema is, as fortune predicted, just reaching her prime.

With two award-winning films at the Cannes Film Festival, and a major role in The Debt, 2011 is proving to be the year of Jessica Chastain. But she’s been hard at work for years to make this moment happen.

From his rambling youth in Australia to his skyrocketed rise to fame after being cast in Avatar, Sam Worthington has been a man of action and emotion. In John Madden’s thriller The Debt, Worthington showcases all parts of his acting talent to play the conflicted Mossad agent David.

While Tom Wilkinson may have originally intended to be a farmer, when he turned to acting, he worked just as hard to cultivate his craft. As such, audiences have reaped the rewards of his performances from stage to TV to films.

John Madden’s THE DEBT tells the tale of a trio of Mossad agents who hunted down a wanted Nazi war criminal. We explore the stories of the many real-life Nazi war criminals who went into hiding after the war, and the people who tracked them down to bring them to justice.

Director John Madden had to find two dynamic actors for each of his three main characters––one to play a young Mossad agent, then another to play that same character 30 years later. Then once cast, the actors had to contend with their other half.

Since the 90s, director John Madden has been known for bringing historical dramas to life, like his Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love. But whether directing police or period pieces, he managers to capture powerful performances, as he does in The Debt.

From the 1948 spy movie Berlin Express to John Madden’s 2011 thriller The Debt, East Berlin has been a film destination for intrigue, espionage, and political tension. We take a look at how this European capital has changed in the decades since Berlin was divided after the end of World War II.

In adapting the Israeli thriller Ha-Hov into The Debt, John Madden enters the cinematic tradition of remaking foreign language films for English-speaking audiences. We look at some of the best foreign language adaptations, from transforming Kurosawa into an American western to popularizing Japanese horror.

Story

Even the best secret agents carry a debt from a past mission. Rachel Singer must now face up to hers…
Filmed on location in Tel Aviv, the U.K., and Budapest, the espionage thriller The Debt is directed by Academy Award nominee John Madden (Shakespeare in Love). The screenplay, by Matthew Vaughn & Jane Goldman and Peter Straughan, is adapted from the 2007 Israeli film Ha-Hov [The Debt]. At the 2011 Beaune International Thriller Film Festival, The Debt was honored with the Special Police [Jury] Prize.